Using Device Groups and Device Locations

This chapter describes the types of device groups supported by the WAAS software and how to create groups that make it easier to manage and configure multiple devices at the same time. This chapter also discusses how to use device locations.

Note Throughout this chapter, the term WAAS device is used to refer collectively to the WAAS Central Managers and WAEs in your network. The term WAE refers to WAE appliances, WAE Network Modules (the NME-WAE family of devices), and SM-SRE modules running WAAS.

About Device and Baseline Groups

When you create a device group, you need to identify the unique characteristics that distinguish that group of devices from others in your network. For example, in larger WAAS deployments, one set of devices may need to be configured with authentication settings that are different from another set of devices in your WAAS network. In this situation, you would create two device groups that each contain different authentication settings, and then assign your devices to the most appropriate group.

If you have devices that reside in different time zones, you can also create device groups based on geographic regions so that the devices in one group can have a different time zone setting from the devices in another group.

In smaller WAAS deployments where all devices can be configured with the same settings, you may only need to create one general device group. This setup allows you to configure settings for the group, and then apply those settings consistently across all your WAAS devices.

Groups not only save you time when configuring multiple devices, but they also ensure that configuration settings are applied consistently across your WAAS network.

When you register a WAE device with the WAAS Central Manager, that device automatically joins the AllDevicesGroup, which is the only default device group on the system. If you create additional device groups, you need to decide if you want your WAE devices to belong to more than one group (the default All Devices group and the new device group you create). If you only want a device to belong to a device group that you create, make sure that you remove the device from the default All Devices group.

You can organize your WAAS devices into the following types of device groups:

•Standard Device Group—A collection of devices that share common qualities and capabilities. Setting up groups based on their authentication settings as previously described is an example of a device group. There are two types of device groups: Configuration Group and WAFS Core Cluster. These are explained in more detail in the "Creating a New Device Group" section.

•Baseline Group—A special type of device group used to configure a WAAS service consistently across multiple devices. There are three types of baseline groups: File, Acceleration, and Platform.

By default, all devices registered with the WAAS Central Manager are assigned to all three baseline groups.

Baseline groups allow you to apply consistent service settings across devices that reside in different device groups.

For example, if you have WAAS devices that reside in different device groups and you want all the devices to share the same application policies, you should make all your policy changes to the Acceleration baseline group. Whenever you create a new policy or modify an existing policy, those changes are distributed to each device that belongs to the Acceleration baseline group. If you make the policy changes to a specific device group, the devices that belong to your other groups are not updated with the policy changes.

Creating a New Device Group

Before you create a device group, make sure you understand the unique properties that you want the group to contain. For example, you may want to set up two device groups that have different authentication settings or different time zone settings.

•Click the Edit icon next to the device group that you want to modify.

•Create a new device group as described in the steps that follow.

Step 2 Click the Create New Device Group icon in the taskbar. The Creating New Device Group window appears.

Step 3 In the Name field, enter the name of the device group.

The name must be unique and should be a name that is useful in distinguishing the device group from others on your system. The name cannot contain characters other than letters, numbers, period, hyphen, underscore, and space.

Step 4 From the Type drop-down list, choose one of the following options:

Note The system is configured with file, acceleration, and platform baseline groups by default. Only one of each of these types of baseline groups can be configured, so you won't be able to check any of the Baseline check boxes unless you have deleted one of these groups. Checking the Is Baseline check box will have no effect unless you are recreating one of these groups.

Step 6 (Optional) Enter comments about the group in the Comments field. The comments that you enter will appear in the Device Group window.

Step 7 Click Submit.

The page refreshes with additional options.

Note The Pages configured for this device group arrow lists the configuration windows in the WAAS Central Manager GUI that have been configured for this device group. Because this is a new device group, no pages will appear in this list.

Step 8 (Optional) Customize the navigation pane for this device group by completing the following steps. Use this feature to remove from view any configuration windows that you do not need for that particular device group:

a. Click the Select pages to hide from table of contents for this device group arrow.

A list of windows in the WAAS Central Manager GUI appears.

b. Check the windows that you want to hide for this device group. You can click the folder icon next to a window to display its child windows.

Configuring the Settings for a Device Group

After creating a device group, you need to configure the settings that you want to be unique to this group.

If you have a general device group that contains all your WAAS devices, configure only the settings that you want to be consistent across all the devices. Settings that apply to a single device should be configured on that device only and not on the device group.

Note We recommend that you do not configure file and acceleration settings for a device group. Instead, use the File and Acceleration baseline groups for this purpose. For more information, see the "Working with Baseline Groups" section.

Assigning Devices to a Configuration Device Group

After you create a configuration device group, you need to assign devices to the group. The WAAS Central Manager GUI provides two methods to assign devices to a configuration group. You can either select the device first, then assign a group to the device, or you can select the device group first, then assign devices to the group.

The procedures in this section describe how to assign devices to a group. To assign a group to a device, choose My WAN > Manage Devices, click the Edit icon next to the device that you want to assign to a group, and choose Assign Groups from the navigation pane. You can then assign a group to the device using the same method described in steps 4 and 5 below.

You cannot assign the WAAS Central Manager to a device group. You must configure the WAAS Central Manager separately from other devices.

Note By default, all devices automatically join the AllDevicesGroup when they are activated. If you do not want a device to belong to two different device groups, you should unassign the device from the AllDevicesGroup before you assign the device to another device group.

Step 2 Click the Edit icon next to the device group to which you want to assign devices.

The Modifying Device Group window appears.

Step 3 In the navigation pane, choose Assign Devices.

The WAE Assignments window appears, displaying the WAEs devices assigned to various locations.

The assignments window lets you filter your view of the items in the list. Filtering allows you to find items in the list that match the criteria that you set.

Step 4 Assign a device to the device group by doing either of the following:

•Click in the taskbar to assign all available devices to the group.

•Click next to each device that you want to assign to the group. The icon changes to when selected.

Step 5 Click Submit.

A green check mark appears next to the assigned devices.

Step 6 Click the Unassignicon (green check mark) next to the name of the device that you want to remove from the device group. Alternatively, you can click the Remove all WAEs icon in the taskbar to remove all devices from the selected device group. Click Submit.

•Modify the settings of a device group by clicking the Edit icon next to the group that you want to edit.

Enabling or Disabling Device Group Overlap

By default, you can assign a device to multiple device groups (including baseline groups). You can disable this functionality so a device can only belong to one device group, which eliminates the possibility of a device inheriting settings from more than one group.

Step 2 Click the Edit icon next to the property name DeviceGroup.overlap.

The Modifying Config Property, DeviceGroup.overlap window appears.

Step 3 From the Value drop-down list, choose either true or false. (The default is true.)

When you disable device group overlap (set to false), existing overlapping device groups are retained and continue to be handled as though overlap were enabled; however, any newly added groups do not allow overlapping, and new devices cannot be added to the existing overlapping groups.

Step 4 Click Submit.

Overriding Group Configuration Settings

The WAAS Central Manager GUI provides the following methods to override the current group configuration on a device:

Step 2 Click the Edit icon next to the device that you want to set the device group precedence.

The Device Dashboard window appears.

Step 3 From the navigation pane, browse to the configuration window that contains the conflicting settings.

A drop-down list appears in the taskbar at the top of the window, as shown in Figure 3-1. This drop-down list allows you to select the device group that you want this configuration window to inherit settings from. The device group that is currently selected is the device group that has precedence.

Figure 3-1 Specifying the Device Group Precedence for a Configuration Window

Step 4 From the drop-down list, choose the device group that you want this configuration page to inherit settings from, and click Submit.

The configuration window changes to reflect the settings associated with the selected device group.

Overriding the Device Group Settings on a Device

The WAAS Central Manager GUI allows you to override the device group settings and specify new settings that are unique to that device.

To override the device group settings on a device, follow these steps:

Step 2 Click the Edit icon next to the device that you want to override its group settings.

The Device Dashboard window appears.

Step 3 From the navigation pane, browse to the configuration window that contains the device group settings you want to override.

Step 4 Click the Override Group Settings icon in the taskbar.

The settings in the configuration window are enabled.

Note The Override Group Settings icon only appears on configuration windows that have been modified on the associated device group.

Step 5 Make the necessary changes to the configuration window, and click Submit.

The device is now configured with settings that are different from the device group it belongs to.

Note The Force Settings on all Devices in Group icon appears in the device group view of an overridden configuration window. You can click this icon to reapply the device group settings to all devices in the device group.

Step 6 To reapply the device groups settings to this configuration window, choose the device group from the drop-down list in the taskbar, and click Submit.

Understanding the Impact of Assigning a Device to Multiple Device Groups

If a device belongs to multiple device groups, a configuration conflict might occur if the groups are not configured exactly the same. In this case, the device will inherit the settings from the device group that was most recently changed. In some cases, however, a device can retain settings from more than one device group depending on how the changes were implemented.

The following scenario describes how a device can retain settings from multiple device groups:

Action 1: Device A is assigned to Device Group 1 (DG1).

Result: Device A automatically inherits all the configuration settings of DG1.

Action 2: Device A is assigned to Device Group 2 (DG2) so it now belongs to two device groups (DG1 and DG2).

Result: Device A inherits all the settings from DG2, but it remains a member of DG1.

Action 3: The standard time zone setting on DG1 is changed to America New York.

Result: The time zone of Device A changes to America New York, but the device maintains all its other configuration settings from DG2.

In this scenario, Device A's configuration is a hybrid of DG1 and DG2. If you want to specify which device group settings a device should inherit, you can use the override features described in the "Overriding Group Configuration Settings" section.

Working with Baseline Groups

A baseline group is a special type of device group used to configure a WAAS service consistently across multiple devices. The WAAS Central Manager GUI provides the following three types of baseline groups:

For example, if you want all your devices to have the same set of application policies, we recommend that you create an Acceleration baseline group that contains all your custom and modified policies. When you assign all your devices to this group, the devices automatically inherit the application policies from the group. Anytime you need to change a policy, you make the change to the baseline group and the change is propagated to all your devices.

A device can be a member of multiple baseline groups. However, a particular service can have only one baseline group associated with it at any given time.

A baseline group is configured in the same way and functions in the same manner as a device group. You first create the baseline group, then configure or modify service settings for that group, then finally assign devices to the group.

The Selecting the (File, Acceleration, or Platform) Baseline Group window for the chosen service appears.

Note If this baseline group does not have a device group assigned to it, the Selecting the File Baseline Group window appears. From this window, select the device group that you want to assign to this baseline group, and then proceed with the rest of the instructions in this section.

Step 2 Change the name of the baseline group by entering the new name in the provided field.

The name must be unique and should be a name that is useful in distinguishing the baseline group from others on your system. The name cannot contain spaces or special characters.

Step 3 Check the Automatically assign all newly activated devices to this group check box to set this baseline group as the default device group for all newly activated devices. Only check this box if you want all your devices to inherit the settings of this baseline group.

Step 4 Enter your comments in the Comments field to provide a description of this baseline group.

The comments you enter will appear in the Device Group window.

Step 5 Click the Pages configured for this device group arrow to view the list of the windows in the WAAS Central Manager GUI that have been configured for this baseline group.

Step 6 Customize the navigation pane for this baseline group by completing the following steps:

a. Click the Select pages to hide from table of contents of this device group arrow.

A list of windows in the WAAS Central Manager GUI appears.

b. Place a check next to the windows that you want to hide for this baseline group. Use this feature to remove from view any configuration windows that you do not need for this particular baseline group.

Step 7 Click Submit.

The windows that you selected to hide for this baseline group disappear from the navigation pane.

Step 8 Configure the service settings for this baseline group as described in the section that follows.

Configuring the Service Settings for a Baseline Group

Each baseline group should be configured to reflect the unique service settings that are not shared with the other baseline groups. For example, if you use the File baseline group to configure File Services on your devices and the Acceleration baseline group to configure the application policies, then these two baseline groups should be configured with different service settings. In this case, the File baseline group can be configured with Edge Server service enabled, and the Acceleration baseline group can be configured with custom or modified application policies.

To configure service settings for a baseline group, follow these steps:

Step 1 From the WAAS Central Manager GUI navigation pane, choose one of the three baseline groups that you want to configure, as follows:

Switching the Baseline Group for a Service

The WAAS Central Manager GUI allows you to switch the device group that is associated with a baseline group. When you switch a baseline group, you must choose a regular device group to take its place. During the switch, the regular device group that you choose is converted to a baseline group, and the baseline group that you remove is converted to a regular device group.

To remove a baseline group from a service and associate another baseline group in its place, follow these steps:

Step 2 Click the Switch Group icon in the taskbar. The WAAS Central Manager GUI returns the following message:

This action will remove this device group as the Baseline Group for this service. You can
then select another device group or create a new one to the Baseline Group for this
service. Do you wish to Continue?

Step 3 Click OK to remove the device group from the service.

The WAAS Central Manager GUI displays the Selecting the Baseline Group window for the chosen service.

Step 4 From the Select a Device Group to be the Baseline Group drop-down list, choose a device group, or choose the Create New Device Group option, as follows:

•If you choose a device group to be the baseline group for that service, the WAAS Central Manager GUI takes you to the Modify Device Group window for that device group.

•If you choose the Create New Device Group option, the WAAS Central Manager GUI takes you to the Create New Device Group window.

Working with Device Locations

The WAAS Central Manager GUI allows you to create locations that you can associate with a WAAS device. You assign a device to a location when you first activate the device. The main purpose of assigning a device to a location is to help you identify a WAAS device by the physical region in which it resides. Locations are different from device groups because devices do not inherit settings from the location to which they belong.

A location with no parent is a level 1 location. A location with a level 1 parent becomes a level 2 location, and so forth. The location level is displayed after you choose a parent location (or choose None) and click Submit to save the configuration.

Step 5 (Optional) In the Comments field, enter comments about the location.

Step 6 Click Submit.

Step 7 Modify a location by going to the Locations window and clicking the Edit icon next to the name of the location that you want to modify.

Step 2 Click the Edit icon next to the location that you want to delete.

The Modifying Location window appears.

Step 3 In the taskbar, click the Delete Location icon. You are asked to confirm your decision to delete the location.

Step 4 To confirm the action, click OK. The location is deleted.

Viewing the Location Tree

The location tree represents the network topology you configured when you assigned a parent to each location. The WAAS Central Manager GUI graphically displays the relationships between the locations configured in your WAAS network.

To view the location tree, choose My WAN > Manage Locations. In the taskbar, click the Location Trees button. The location tree is displayed as shown in Figure 3-2.